Cesto Di Frutta (Italian-Style Pavlova) - cooking recipe

Ingredients

180 g caster sugar
3 egg whites
1 teaspoon white wine vinegar
1 teaspoon vanilla essence
1 teaspoon cornflour
2 kiwi fruits, sliced
100 g strawberries, halved, leaves discarded
3 passion fruit, pulp only
250 g fresh pineapple, chopped
1 papaya, peeled, seeds removed and sliced
300 ml double cream
3 tablespoons Amaretto (almond liqueur)

Preparation

Whisk the egg whites until stiff in a large dry bowl. Preheat the oven to 150C/gas 1.
Whisk in the sugar, a little at a time, until the mixture becomes glossy. Fold in the vinegar, corn flour and vanilla essence.
On a non-stick baking sheet, draw a 20cm circle and spoon the meringue onto it. Make an large hollow in the centre - this will be filled with cream and fruit after it has been baked.
Bake for 90 minutes or until light brown and dry. It should still be a little soft in the centre.
Leave to cool before transferring to a cooling rack.
Whisk the double cream until thickened and set aside.
In a separate bowl, mix all the fruits together with the Amaretto liqueur.
Spoon the cream into the centre of the pavlova, top with the mixed fresh fruits and serve.